In this article, I describe how to use SampleLab, one of 5 unique tools built into video compression suite DV Kitchen to take the guess work out of the encoding equation.

SampleLab is the only tool in the world that is designed to help you determine the best encoding setting for your videos.

Let’s say I have a video of a two people in a park that I want to put on my website. The first question I face is what encoding settings, or recipe, is going to make this clip looks spectacular on the web, but not take up unecessary bandwidth?

That’s the question that SampleLab was designed to answer. A master chef always tastes a variety of samples before finalizing a recipe. A master video compressionist does the same thing.

Fast Start with QuickSpecs

In SampleLab, you have the option to choose an existing recipe or create your own. Either way, the fastest way to get started is with QuickSpecs, the built-in default options. Choose from the amazing x264 codec, Flash FLV, or Windows media formats, choose any frame size and a bitrate, click go and you’re done.

Next, create a second sample with different characteristics and compare it against the first. SampleLab allows you to toggle between your samples while they’re playing in the built in video player.

Repeat the exercise with as many different settings as you like until you are satisfied that you have the achieved the ‘threshold of quality’ (TOQ) . . . the setting that represents the best trade-off between quality and bitrate size.

“TOQ” is the phrase coined by DV Kitchen designer Josh Mellicker to describe the diminishing returns of increasing bitrate over a certain amount for a particular movie. The TOQ of a clip is the “sweet spot” – just enough bitrate so the movie looks fabulous, but no more.

SampleLab is by far the best way to find the TOQ for each clip you encode. When you decide on a winner, save your recipe so you can recall it in the future with a single click.

To learn more about SampleLab, watch the official avi to mp4 mac demo video.

Keep Your Dog Healthy

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1. Frozen in Time – How to Take Video Snapshots with DV Kitchen
2. DV Kitchen Cooks Up a Storm
3. gourmet magazine recipes & low fat diet recipes